Today we’d like to introduce you to Hallie Knudsen

Hi Hallie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

Today, I am the owner & operator of Wally’s Corner; a small-town gift shop in Cuttingsville, Vermont. But 3 years ago, I was a tech startup expert specializing in Customer Service. I worked for companies in their early days to help lay down their foundation to get them to where they are today. I juggled an insane amount of tasks; it was stressful and fun and never the same day-to-day, which were all the reasons I LOVED doing what I did.

Everything came to a head in 2021 after my husband and I purchased a small antique store across the street from our home and I had been laid off from my 2nd job in 6 months time. While still applying to new roles, my husband said “you know, we bought this store, we don’t know what we’re going to do with it. Why don’t you try to see what you can do?” And that was all the encouragement I needed to put my energy into something new. I feel like I spent my entire adult career learning the ins and outs of starting something from scratch, so I was ready to do it myself. Well, ready may not be the right word, but if anyone can make something out of nothing with uninhibited enthusiasm, it’s me.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Starting a gift shop in a small town requires patience and creativity to keep busy every single day, even though no one is coming through your doors. We didn’t have a “plan” going into this business. We purchased the building because it was directly across from where we lived, the price was surprisingly inexpensive for real estate, and it had been closed for 2+ years due to covid. There was no business plan in mind, so with basically no money coming in or out, I had to work with what we had in the shop and hope the chaos would make sense in time.

Just as we were starting to gain some traction around the holidays of 2022, our store was broken into and robbed. It was a huge upset, but we cleaned up the broken glass, replaced the broken window ourselves, added more locks to our doors & shed, and bought security cameras to help us feel comfortable continuing on our journey.

In May of 2023, we welcomed our first child, Ellis Bruce. The store was closed while I took a short maternity leave of 6 weeks and we reopened July 4th weekend.

On July 10th, 2023, a terrible flood ravaged Southern Vermont and with it, took our store. The building’s exterior wall collapsed during the event, so besides the incredible damage to the building & land, we lost about 60% of our inventory and the nursery we had built for our newborn son.

With the kindness & generosity of the locals, we were able to save what we could from the shop and in August, were offered a new location by our neighbors who own and operate Stewart Maple Syrup. We opened our new shop in The Olde Barnyard, only 2 doors away from our original location in September 2023 and have been operating there ever since.

As you know, we’re big fans of Wally’s Corner. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

Wally’s Corner is a gift shop specializing in Local & Handmade Goods, Maple Syrup, Home Decor & Artisanal Food & Beer. With that being said, it’s hard to summarize our shop in just a few words. We started making our social media channels help us portray individual items we carry by posting multiple videos & pictures daily with subjects such as “First Sale of the Day”. We’re now on Tik Tok, Instagram & Facebook under @wallyscorner. I am so honored to work with over 70 vendors from the state of Vermont to help get their well-crafted, incredible products in front of a new audience.

When you visit our shop, you’ll be reminded of your travels where you walked into a store thinking it was one thing and then left realizing it was so much more. Wally’s Corner was inspired by my own travels to mountain towns with quaint shops showcasing products you couldn’t find anywhere else. That feeling you get when you are wowed by a local delicacy or find a gift that is as unique as the person you’re shopping for, that’s what we want our customers to experience every time they visit.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?

Man, where do I even start? I am lucky to have an incredible support system at home with my loving husband, Bob, as well as my entire family helping me whenever they can. My parents have been known to run the register and my sisters have helped with all things design and organization. Even though they all live in NY, they visit as often as possible to lend a hand and I am so thankful for them.

A huge shoutout to the town of Shrewsbury, VT and our neighboring towns for their help before and after the flood. I honestly don’t even know if there would be a Wally’s Corner today if it weren’t for the help of strangers, showing up and taking control of the situation at hand. I literally was in shock, holding my 2 month old, as people from all over my area arrived at the store with trucks, buckets & shovels to help clean and empty out the store on July 11th, one day after the flood. There are literal videos of this moment on our social media pages, in case you’re curious what this time looked like. They were able to save so much and did so without wanting anything in return. I am forever grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wallyscorner.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wallyscorner/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wallyscorner
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@wallyscorner